What does the closing of Taiyuan's first Starbucks tell us about coffee culture?

Starbucks' first Taiyuan store, on the ground floor of the Liuxiang Maoye Department Store, will permanently close on November 1 after twelve years of operation. The two-story shop opened in March 2013 and reportedly set a brand sales record on its first day. Declining foot traffic and an often empty second floor now reflect shifting urban commercial patterns and changing coffee consumption habits.

The store's origin is tied to a story about coffee and city pride: in 2011 a student's online remark that Taiyuan lacked a Starbucks drew widespread criticism, and the brand scouted locations the following year. Local residents have responded to the closure notice with memories of packed early crowds and the store's place in the city's daily life.

Another beloved old coffee shop carrying the city's memories is about to close its doors. Starbucks' first store in Taiyuan—the ground-floor location in the Maoye Department Store on Liuxiang—has posted a notice that it will permanently close on November 1, after accompanying local residents for twelve whole years. This old store, which opened in March 2013, is also connected to a dramatic episode sparked by online remarks, and its departure has left many Taiyuan residents deeply moved. From the packed crowds of its early days, when its first-day sales were said to set a brand record, to today's declining foot traffic and a second floor that is often completely empty, the rise and fall of this two-story retro café reflects the changes in urban commercial patterns and the evolution of coffee consumption. This article takes you through the past and present of this old store, as well as its inseparable emotional bond with the people of Taiyuan.

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Recently, netizens in Taiyuan, Shanxi, have successively posted on social platforms, saying that the Starbucks store on the ground floor of Maoye Department Store on Liuxiang in Taiyuan is about to close permanently.

It is understood that the Starbucks Liuxiang store was the first store opened by the brand after entering Taiyuan, officially beginning operations in March 2013. Seeing this 12-year-old store post a notice that it will permanently close on November 1, local residents could not help but sigh, and memories related to it have come flooding back.

In the impression of many Taiyuan netizens, the origin of this Starbucks is quite dramatic. They recall that the story began in 2011, when a student from another province studying at a university in Taiyuan posted a comment on social media: "Such a huge city as Taiyuan doesn't even have a single Starbucks... you can really tell the class of this city..."

Unexpectedly, this view stirred up a storm online and drew collective criticism from Taiyuan netizens. In the end, under widespread condemnation, the student had to apologize, and after the apology failed to calm things down, deleted their social media account, which finally quelled the online war of words that lasted more than a day.

Interestingly, after the incident passed, Starbucks scouted and laid out locations in Taiyuan the following year, opening six stores in 2013 alone. Among them, the Liuxiang store on the ground floor of Maoye Department Store opened to the public earliest, becoming Taiyuan's first Starbucks. Many local residents, when recalling the day the store opened, can still remember the packed scene. According to rumor, the store's first-day performance once set a brand single-day record.

During its years in operation, this Starbucks became a favorite photo spot for a large number of fans because of its classical, exquisite, and uniquely styled interior decor, and photos shared by photo-taking enthusiasts could often be seen on social media. Many netizens also posted in the comment sections of posts screenshots of their own social media records from visiting and checking in here in earlier years, lamenting that their first cup of Starbucks in life was drunk in this very atmospheric two-story café.

Now this old store, which has accompanied Taiyuan residents for 12 years, is about to draw the curtain, and many netizens cannot help but feel reluctant and regretful, though nearby residents seem to have sensed the store's closure.

They said that although this Starbucks initially relied on the foot traffic of the mall and had very good store performance, with many users studying and working inside, as the city's economy and development changed, foot traffic in the nearby commercial area decreased, and the store gradually became quieter. Many people said that sometimes when they walked in, the spacious second floor was completely empty, and they remarked bluntly that Taiyuan's first store was long gone from its former bustling scene.

Other residents said that because the retro-decorated Starbucks Liuxiang store is a great place for taking photogenic pictures, more users have come here for photography in recent years, but some passersby only take photos without consuming anything, which may have brought trouble to the store's operations and management.

Facing this old Starbucks store that is about to end operations, Taiyuan residents who witnessed both its glory at opening and its desolation before closing feel a great deal, saying that from now on they will no longer be able to sit in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass on the second floor, basking in the sun while drinking coffee and watching the endless stream of traffic below.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.